Greyhounds Betting: Watch out for Dangerous Lady down the outside

Sky Previews / Darrell Williams / 12 December 2008 / Leave a Comment

While the weekend is on the quiet side, don't be fooled into thinking greyhound racing has geared down for for the Christmas period. These few days are just a chance to catch breath before a busy pre-Christmas week, highlighted by the final of the Oaks, live on Sky Sports from Wimbledon on Tuesday night, says Darrell Williams.

I'll preview the full card on Monday, but despite the loss of a few big guns along the way, the bitches Classic has all the makings of a top class final, and with the possibility of a first local winner for six years.

Those Wimbledon hopes are carried by the Richard Rees trained Ravello Drive, who while in excellent form in top grade local company prior to the event, few would have realistically considered as a possible finalist, let alone a potential winner.

Yet when picking up Droopys Quinta on the line in the Quarter-final last Saturday, she threw her hat into the ring big style, and did little to suggest that she won't be able to handle the heat on the big night when comfortably accounting for her rivals in the semis. I expect her to run another huge race for Rees in the final, but she did appear to edge inwards from trap five on Tuesday - the same draw she has in the final - all of which should ensure the striped jacketed Dangerous Lady will get a solo down the outside.

David Mullins' charge has peaked at just the right time after her seasonal break, and will go into the final defeating the competition's only unbeaten record. Our last surviving ante post pick Droopys Quinta looked a little laboured when hitting a spot of crowding at the first bend the other night, and while she worked hard down the back to get back into contention, it was not a run that suggested she was about to win the Oaks.

The trap one draw inside early paced Meenala Amy will also hardly help her cause, and my hopes rest on her cracking out, which if she did, she's certainly fast enough and classy enough to still pinch the prize.

Nottingham's National Sprint threw up a few surprises under extremely wet conditions in Monday's heats, but this column's ante post pick Horseshoe Ping didn't let the side down when clocking the joint fastest time of the round to make it four wins in five at the track.

Drawn in the toughest of the two semi-finals on Monday, I still believe he's the competition's most likeliest winner - the final is a week later - and while Emmas Prince, due to line up in the same race, did nothing wrong in winning his own heat, he may struggle to clear fast starting Freight Train in that race. Boherduff Monti, also in the line up and given a negative in this column before the first round, struggled through the worst of the conditions to qualify, but never looked a threat.

Miss Lee however did the job well in her first round heat, and looks the most likely winner of the other semi-final and should enjoy a clear run with Judicial Ace drawn on her inside.